Horizontal centrifuges are commonly used to de-water and dry a variety of materials. Their applications include coal, chemical, food processing, paper mills, drilling reclamation, and sewage treatment plants.
Screen bowl dryers are horizontal centrifuges which incorporate a cylindrical slotted screen to dry solids. Typical screen bowl dryers include a bowl and a helically bladed or screw conveyor. The bowl and conveyor are rotated about a common axis in the same direction but at different speeds to discharge solids which have been separated from a slurry. The solids are discharged through a conical end of the bowl having a reduced diameter. The larger diameter section of the bowl is typically solid and the reduced diameter section is provided by the slotted screen. The slurry is introduced into the solid section of the bowl and solids are centrifugally separated from liquid. Separated solids are conveyed by the screw conveyor across the rotating screen for drying. The dried solids are then discharged.
Because the value of the dried material is dependent upon its dryness, it is desirable to improve drying characteristics of screen bowl dryers. The present invention relates to an improved screen bowl dryer which, in a cost effective manner, lowers the moisture content of the exiting material to increase the value of the material.